AMD unveils its cheapest Threadripper CPU yet

Intel and AMD are duking it out once again to see how many cores they can cram into a single CPU, and that's great news for PC enthusiasts across all budgets. Professionals likely won't have any qualms dropping $1,000 or $2,000 for their 16- and 18-core behemoths, while thriftier shoppers get more options for less. Today, AMD rounded out its Threadripper lineup with the eight-core Ryzen 1900X, which will cost just $549. In comparison, the recently announced 12-core Threadripper sells for $799, while the top of the line 16-core model goes for $999.

The Threadripper 1900X features speeds between 3.8GHz and 4GHz, and of course, it'll be fully unlocked for all of your overclocking needs. It's $50 more than AMD's other eight-core CPU, the Ryzen 7 1800X, but it packs in more capabilities for demanding users. For example, it supports four-channel DDR4 RAM, instead of just two channels. The Threadripper chip also packs in 64 PCIe lanes, compared to 24 on the 1800X. That makes it better suited cramming in a ton of GPUs, as well as for tasks where you need to push lots of data.